Natural justice in assessment proceedings requires meaningful hearing before finalisation; ex parte orders and connected rectification were quashed.

An ex parte assessment completed before receipt and consideration of the assessee's reply to the pre-assessment notice was held to violate natural justice. Because the objections were not taken into account before finalisation, the assessment was treated as hurried and procedurally infirm. The rectification order, which merely sustained that assessment, was vitiated by the same defect and could not survive independently. The assessment proceedings were quashed and directed to be completed afresh after giving the assessee an effective opportunity of hearing.

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Issues: Whether the ex parte assessment order and the order on rectification were liable to be quashed for breach of natural justice and whether the assessment had to be completed afresh after hearing the assessee.

Analysis: The assessment order was passed before the reply to the pre-assessment notice was received, and the record showed that the assessee's objections were not considered before completion of the assessment. In these circumstances, the assessment was found to have been hurried through without proper consideration of the assessee's reply, resulting in a violation of the principles of natural justice. The rectification order, which sustained the assessment, was also affected by the same infirmity and could not stand independently.

Conclusion: The ex parte assessment order and the rectification order were quashed, and the assessment proceedings were directed to be completed afresh after affording the assessee an opportunity of hearing.

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